1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to laboratory devices and more particularly to a evaporator device of the type useful for an array of specimens or samples in the liquid form, having entrained solids, which are sought to be reduced so as to evaporate the diluent and leave behind the residue for further testing, wherein the device allows for evaporation in a positive, direct and controlled manner.
2. Description of the Related Art
With increasing research activity due in part to federal funds being provided to implement research in various areas, it becomes abundantly necessary to have samples for various test procedures. With the extreme activity in molecular biochemistry, it becomes necessary to test seriatim, a plurality of samples using various techniques, all in an expeditious and orderly manner.
Heretofore laboratory workers have had to take individual test specimens and evaporate samples in order to get the working residue from which other testing could be made. These methods have been slow and cumbersome and has usually entailed singular handling of individual samples and heating thereof by way of Bunsen burners or the like, or by introducing a fluid such as air or inert gas, heated or otherwise, in order to accelerate the evaporation process.
With the need to produce a plurality of samples for varying test procedures, multi-compartment assay or specimen containers have been developed for containing a plurality of measured specimens in each of the compartments. Thus there is a need to have a simple, relatively low-cost, easily maintained laboratory device that will accomplish controlled and direct evaporation of liquid samples contained in the plurality of wells of the multi-compartment assay trays.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,623 issued to Friswell is directed to a Laboratory Evaporation Apparatus. As shown in the Drawings, a support rack 15 is mounted in the basin 14 and retains a plurality of vessels 16 having openings at their upper ends for receiving liquid and solid compositions. Also defined by the front housing portion 12 is a vent 17 that communicates through an exhaust fan with an exhaust port in the rear housing portion 13. A tray-shaped transparent cover 18 is pivotally mounted on the rear housing portion 13 and can be pivoted from an open position shown in FIG. 1 into a closed position completely covering the basin 14 and the vent 17. Mounted in a rear portion of the cover 18 is a bracket assembly 19 that supports a combined gas and liquid supply line assembly 21. Included in the supply line 21 assembly are a plurality of elongated nozzles 22 rigidly supported by the bracket 19. Upon closure of the cover 18, each of the nozzles 22 is arranged to enter the open top of a different one of the vessels 16 in the manner shown in FIG. 2.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,336 issued to Fox is directed to an Automated Evaporator for Chemical Analyses. As shown in FIG. 1, the evaporator 20 is a turntable 22 that rotates a housing containing a heat transfer fluid, or a fluid bath 24, a carousel 26, and a gas distributing manifold 28. Adjacent to fluid bath 24 is a sensor arm 32 and a sensor control 33. Carousel 26 is situated in a fluid 44 such that sample containers 42 are not completely covered by fluid 44 within fluid bath 24. Manifold 28 is used for simultaneously distributing a drying, preferably non-oxidizing gas into each container of sample containers 42, shown in FIG. 3. Manifold 28 has a circular plate 56, shown in FIG. 1, connected to base 46 and generally parallel to carousel 26. Tubing lengths 57 and capillaries 58 direct drying gas from base 46 to sample containers 42 at a rate preferably great enough to drive off any oxygen from the air, but not so great as to cause splashing of the sample.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,028 issued to Astle is directed to a Method and Apparatus for Effecting Solid Phase Extraction. As shown in the Drawings, the instrument 10 is mounted on a table or support 11 therefore and comprises a first housing member 12 having a display panel 13 thereon, which may include a read-out device 14 and depressible buttons 15 which will actuate switches to call for a given sequence of operation. A compartment 16 is provided to house a plurality of reagent or eluate containers 17. Supported on housing member 12 is a rack or container 19 for tubes 20 containing aspiration tips. As shown in FIG. 1, an aspiration tip 23 is fitted to an aspiration nozzle. With reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 5, a cassette 34 is illustrated. The cassette 34 is a molded one-piece structure having distinct areas or tubes 35, 36, 37, 38, and 39, with interconnecting webs 40 and a generally rectangular base 41 to permit upright support 9. FIGS. 10 and 11 show a second magazine or tray 70 for in-feeding racks 51 containing eluent receiving tubes 51. Magazines 29, 30 are mounted on a slide 71 driven by the piston rod 71 of cylinder 71. FIG. 11 also shows, in part, a spent cassette out-feed magazine 73.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,561 issued to Kuhn et al. is directed to Vortex Evaporation. The vortex evaporator 10 comprises a chamber 14, a housing 16, a control panel 18, a lid 20, a heater 22, a gas supply system 24, and a drive mechanism 26 for providing a vortexing motion. The gas supply system 24 comprises gas feed tubes 30 which connect to a manifold 32, as shown in FIG. 5. The gas source preferably comprises an inert gas source for supplying purified gas across the solution contained within the containers 12 to prevent contamination of the solutions. With reference to FIG. 5, the vortex evaporator 10 also comprises a ventilation system 98 for venting the gas (e.g., nitrogen) and the evaporated solution fumes from the chamber 14. As shown in FIG. 9, the container holder 322 presents a plurality of cylindrical recesses 328 for snugly receiving the containers 12.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,977,935 issued to Kowarski is directed to a Method and Apparatus for Evaporating Liquids. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the assembly includes an enclosure 11. The enclosure 11 comprises a lower body 12, an upper body 13 removable from the lower body 12, and a cover 36 secured to the top of upper body 13. A tube support 16 rests upon an upper flange portion of the lower body 12, as shown in FIG. 3. The tube support 16 includes a plurality of test tube receptacles 19 extending downward into the lower body 12, thereby forming a closed cooling chamber 20 within the lower body 12 defined by the side and bottom walls thereof, and the tube support 16.
The prior art. devices have not provided, as has the instant invention, for the ability to have a modular component supporting a plurality of pipette-type fluid tubes which may be easily cleansed for subsequent serial concentration processes.
The present invention remedies shortcomings and drawbacks found in the prior art by providing a relatively low-cost, structurally sound evaporator device which is easy to use. The evaporator device of the instant invention has a main manifold to which is coupled a modular member supporting a plurality of depending pipette-type tubes corresponding in number and alignment to the number of compartments or sample-containing sections of a multi-compartment assay tray. The assay tray is supported on a vertically-movable platen for positively and directly putting the depending hollow tubes or needles into close relationship or proximity to the interior volumes of the individual compartments of the assay tray.
Where the assay tray is so constructed so as to have adjacent spaces between side walls in the compartments, the device of the present invention has a lower manifold, again with upstanding hollow pipette-type tubes or needles, which similarly directs gas or fluid which may or may not be heated into the spaces, which are accessible through the bottom of the tray, between and adjacent the contiguous walls of the individualized compartments.
The modular construction of the component which may likely come into contact with the samples being worked upon is easily disassociateable from the manifolds and are easily sanitized or sterilized so that cross-contamination with subsequent specimens and samples is not likely to occur.
Additionally, the vertically moving platen which supports the assay tray may be brought in closer contact relationship with respect to the depending hollow tubes or needles so that the evaporating process may be carried out more effectively and efficiently.
The evaporating device of the present invention, though sophisticated in operation and ultimate function, is simple in mechanical terms leaving little or no room for mechanical breakdown. The evaporating device has the ability to be easily maintained and is relatively low-weight, and thus is mobile and may be used in various locations in the laboratory wherever a source of fluid, heated or ambient, such as air, nitrogen, etc. may be available. In other instances, the fluid need not be heated and the passage of a volume of fluid is relied upon solely for the evaporation action that takes place.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a solid phase evaporator device.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an easily-usable evaporator device to be used with a multi-compartment assay tray.
It is still another important object of the present invention to provide an easily used evaporator device for laboratory use wherein a plurality of depending hollow needles or pipette-type tubes are modularly mounted for ready disassociation with the assembly of the device for ease of sterilization.
It is still another more specific important object of the present invention to provide a desktop-type evaporator device for use in a laboratory, wherein heated fluids such as air or gas may be introduced into individual cells or compartments making up an assay test tray and wherein heated fluid may be injected about the side and bottom walls of the individual compartments making up the multi-compartment assay tray in order to speed and assist in the evaporative diluent reduction process.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following specification and accompanying drawings.